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I laughed, shaking my head. “I can’t afford a place like this.”
“You could,” Corey said. The doors opened to the seventh floor. He tugged at my hand. “This isn’t exactly Mt. Pleasant. Or Isle of Palms, for that matter.”
He said it like one little job could help me manage to pay for everything. I checked back with Brandon. He followed us with his hands stuffed into his pockets, his head down.
Corey released me to grab keys and open the door.
Inside, the set-up was similar, but a little backward. The front had a living space, and there was a couch pushed up against the wall on the left and an entertainment center on the right. In the back was a small corner dining space, and a smaller kitchen. The dining space was set up with two desks, but this time, instead of having only a couple of computers, the desks were littered with a variety of them. Desktop computers were set up in a row, side by side, underneath the desks and pushed up around the wall. On top, there were several monitors, although there were only two chairs, so it appeared to be just two workstations.
There was a door just in front of the kitchen on the right. On the left, a small hallway, and the bathroom door was open with a matching bedroom door beside it.
Corey crossed the living room, heading to the door on the right. “Come see,” he said. “there’s a bathroom in here, too. So two bathrooms. You wouldn’t need to share.”
I crossed the living room while Brandon locked the door behind us.
The moment I entered Corey’s bedroom, I got distracted. The walls themselves were bare ... but instead of the usual apartment white, they were covered in a gray surface. At first, I thought it was just a color until I noticed white markings from chalk.
My fingers traced over the surface. “How did you get chalkboards in here like this? Are they bolted to the walls?”
Corey paused on his way to the other side of the room, he stopped, studying what I was staring at. “Oh,” he said. “It’s just chalkboard paint.”
I turned, the room was covered from ceiling to floor with the stuff. The smooth gray surface had occasional chalk dust smatterings across it. There were various trays of chalk and erasers positioned at about elbow height pinned to the walls. On top of the paint, there were mathematical formulas far more advanced than I’d seen. It wasn’t algebra or geometry. It had to be some sort of advanced calculus or beyond that even. I tried following the formulas, but I couldn’t keep up with where he was going with them. Some sections had tacked up aerial maps and charts. Mathematics based on area location?
“What is all this?” I asked.
Brandon grumbled. “Maybe you should take her out of here. She shouldn’t see this.”
Corey shrugged. “If she can figure it out, she’s allowed to know.” Corey ventured over to the far wall, where there was a door and shoved it open. I stepped up next to him, finding a tub, toilet and sink crammed together, a lot like at the hotel. “The other one is bigger,” he said. “But it’s pretty decent. And if Wil wants to stay on campus, they have a few single bedrooms, too.”
“They don’t have as good of a kitchen, though,” Brandon said. He stood in Corey’s doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. “I’ve seen those floor plans. You’d barely have enough room for a microwave and a mini-fridge.”
“We could probably get her one of those camping stoves,” Corey said. “Or if she’s living here, she can come by and cook.”
I smirked at the sink, sliding my fingers over the counter top. “I love how you guys assume I can cook,” I said.
Their heads turned simultaneously toward me, eyebrows raised. “You don’t?” they asked together, the same notes of disappointment working through.
“I thought you guys didn’t want me hanging around after anyway,” I said. I turned, crossing my arms under my breasts and leaning back against the sink.
“Why not?” Corey asked. “You need somewhere else to live besides that hotel. That place is a rip off.”
I sighed. I didn’t know the answer to this. I couldn’t afford it now and I couldn’t leave Wil yet. “Anyway.” I tugged at the material of the dress. “Please tell me I can borrow clothes from one of you? I can’t stand this anymore.”
?????
Later, I was on my back on the couch in the living room, watching Corey play Assassin’s Creed on the Xbox. I had on a Superman T-shirt that was Corey’s, and a pair of old black boxer shorts that Corey had given me, but Brandon claimed were his. I had a pillow under my cheek and was zoned out staring at the screen while Corey played his game.
I nudged at Corey’s leg with a forefinger. “There’s a pack of wolves after you.”
“I hear them coming,” he said, making his video game character dash in circles, dodging and shooting. “Are you sure you don’t want to play something with me?”
“I would, but I’m brain dead. All I want is to rest here before I go home and go to bed.”
“Stay here if you want,” Corey said. “We’ll just have to go fetch you tomorrow anyway.”
They wanted me here tomorrow? I didn’t say anything for a bit, contemplating. Because of all the food I ate and now being done with the stressful job, I was really feeling run down. “Where are the other guys, anyway?”
“They had to make a stop,” Brandon said. He walked over with an iPad, and patted my legs. I bent at the knee, and he sat down. I wedged my toes between his back and the couch to keep them toasty. He smirked at me. “What are you doing?”
“Warming my toes.”
“By putting your cold ones on me?” He nudged my legs. “I’m not your heating pad. Go put some socks on if you’re cold.”
I pretended I was going to pull my feet back, and instead, dodged his arm, aiming for a bare spot of skin between his shirt and pants.
“Shit,” he dropped the iPad onto his lap, and captured my ankle. “You keep ice in your feet or what? Stop that.”
I smirked, drawing my feet in and pushing them at the couch back. “You guys have it freezing in here.”
“It’s either cold or way too hot,” Corey said. “Want a blanket?”
“If I take a blanket, I’ll fall asleep. The cold is the only thing keeping me up.”
“Sleep here,” he said, and there was a note to his tone suggesting he’d prefer if I did.
I sighed, still not knowing what to do. Tempting, but what about Wil? Not that he couldn’t fend for himself for just one night. And in the moment, probably because I was tired, I didn’t want to leave. One night away from the hotel? In an actual apartment? I secretly reveled in the luxury I’d missed for so long. I was tempted to ask if Wil could come, but didn’t want to make things awkward. And Wil, well, it was one night. “Can I use the phone?”
Brandon leaned forward, plucking his cell phone from his pocket. He plopped it onto the space of the couch in front of me. “No calling Romeo Coaltar.”
“I don’t even have his number,” I said. I punched in the number for the hotel and then the extension to reach the right room.
The phone rang for a good bit before Jack answered. “What?”
“What are you doing there?” I asked. He was awake? And at the hotel?
“Kayli?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh,” he said. “Where are you? There’s not a red penny anywhere in this place.”
“Good,” I said. “Where’s Wil?”
“Don’t tell me good.”
“Where’s Wil?”
“Where are you?”
He never listens! “Where’s Wil?”
He grunted into the phone. “I don’t know. He’s off doing homework like he does all the time. He’s probably downstairs at that computer. I keep telling him to tell me where he’s going.”
I didn’t like not hearing from Wil and asking if it was okay if I stayed away one night. I knew the answer, though. He’d be okay with it, and probably would encourage it. He probably had a lot of questions as to why the rent was paid for a month. He’d
want to meet the guys. I thought he might like Corey and Axel. He may not like Raven. “Tell him I’m working late. I got a new job.”
“Where’s this job?”
“Downtown. Just tell him it’ll be overnight and to get to school. Don’t wait up for me.” At least if I lied through Jack, Wil wouldn’t be able to tell I was lying. I didn’t want Jack knowing the truth. I’d make it up to Wil later.
I hung up, tossing the phone back toward Brandon and hitting him in the thigh.
“Who was that?” Brandon asked. “Your dad?”
“Yeah, he stayed home. Ran out of beer money.” I stretched, pushing my head against Corey and my legs against Brandon. “Where do I find a blanket?”
“I’ll get one,” Corey said. He dropped the controller, and started heading toward his bedroom. He stopped halfway and turned. “Or do you want to sleep in the bed? I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” I said. I didn’t really care. I just didn’t want to get up.
At the same time, there was a knock at the door. Brandon hopped up, ran over and unlocked it.
Marc lead the way, followed by Axel and Raven. Brandon returned to where he had been sitting. Corey came back with a blanket and tossed it at me before he sat down, but he held the controller still instead of going back to play.
Marc spotted me on the couch and an eyebrow cocked. “What happened to you?”
I turned my head toward them. Long strands of hair fell across my eyes, and I tried to shove them back. “Is he a drug dealer or what?” I asked.
Raven plunked himself down in one of the rolling office chairs next to the computer desks. “Is that hope I’m detecting in your question, little thief?”
Brandon made a noise that sounded a lot like a growl. “If he’s not a bad guy, she’s hoping for a date.”
Eyebrows lifted on faces around the room. Raven smirked. “In that case, yes. He’s a dealer. And a rapist. And a murderer. He murders babies. Girl babies. And puppies. And he rapes them. After they’re dead. Sometimes.”
Axel popped him on the back side of the head as he headed into the kitchen. “Just stop talking.” He headed toward the fridge, opening it. “Tell her, Marc.”
